


The Trouble with Company

by Lenny9987



Series: Living It Up at Lallybroch AU Series [4]
Category: Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-17 21:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5885251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenny9987/pseuds/Lenny9987
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some old acquaintances are on the run from the English and seek refuge at Lallybroch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"There are two old friends of ours looking for a safe place to hide out for a couple of days," Murtagh informed Jamie after he returned from one of his regular trips into Inverness. 

"Old friends?" Jamie asked, setting aside the ledger he'd been making notes in and leaning back in his chair.

"Willie and Angus."

"Willie and Angus?" Jamie said clearly surprised. "I thought - after Culloden they were..."

"They were," Murtagh confirmed. "They were captured and imprisoned - lucky they werena executed like Dougal or untold others."

"I thought those that were imprisoned were being transported?" 

"Aye, well. There's where the hiding comes in. A group of them were bein' transferred to Inverness for transportation," Murtagh explained. "Willie and Angus and a few others were able to... slip away before they reached Inverness. There's word about and a few soldiers looking for them but since they're so few and it's been some time..."

"The Red Coats arena lookin' too hard then?"

"I dinna think so. Those what escaped knew enough to break from the others."

"Thin the Red Coats out as well, eh?"

"How far're they? Willie and Angus."

"They're no far. I can fetch them here by tomorrow."

"Claire'll want to tend them and it's likely they'll need it," Jamie admitted, pondering the best way to bring them to relative safety without bringing the English down on the estate once more. It would have to be done quietly - couldn't have more than Jenny, Ian, and Claire knowing about it - maybe Mrs. Crook. "The priest's hole should do for them while they're on the mend then..."

"They're in no state for much more rough living," Murtagh warned. 

"Aye, then fetch them here after nightfall. I'll let Claire and Jenny and Ian know they're coming. Maybe Ian will think of somewhere nearby they can hide that'll be less risk to the rest of us than the priest's hole should the English venture this far in their search."

 

* * *

 

Ian and Jamie were waiting in the kitchen while Claire and Jenny put the children to bed. Mrs. Crook had been quick to take the hint and had no intention of becoming embroiled in whatever Jamie might be up to and headed to her bed early after leaving out a bit of food should they find themselves wanting a wee something. 

Claire returned with William in her arms. "I take it they've not yet arrived," she observed before sitting by the low fire to nurse her infant son. "Do you have everything ready?"

"Aye," Jamie confirmed looking to the covered basket in the corner alongside her medical box. "Bandages and fresh clothes. The tub for washing is just outside - I dinna want them mussing up Mrs. Crook's kitchen so they'll have to do wi' the water being on the brisk side. I even have my razor so they can have a proper shave."

"You think a bath and a shave will alter their appearances enough to fool the English?" Claire asked with raised brows. 

Jamie laughed darkly. "Aye. I've been in prison before, ye'll recall, though no for as long as the pair of them. A proper bath and shave will do more to bring them back to the men they were than ye'd think."

"I hear something," Ian whispered from his post by the door. Jamie was up in a moment and outside with him while Claire sat anxiously rubbing William's back as he continued to nurse. 

Jenny came in. "The twins were being wee devils tonight," she muttered as she crossed to Claire's seat and looked down at her nephew. "Young Ian was a bit restless too. Like the little ones know something's about."

There was a muffled commotion outdoors that drew Jenny's attention. "Jamie wants them to bathe outside to avoid a mess," she explained. 

"I'll see how he plans on getting them dry again or there'll be just as much mess either way." Jenny marched outside - an act that brought a few loud exclamations of protest before Jenny's practical tones subdued them.

Claire couldn't make out what was being said but even William stopped nursing to turn his head and listen. 

"I think your Auntie Jenny is winning, whatever the argument is," she told the baby as she drew her shift back over her breast and raised William to her shoulder. "Now lets see if we can get you to sleep before they come inside, shall we." She rose and began to sway with him as she patted his back. 

Jenny reappeared at the door. "It's as I suspected. They had the means to wash them - soap and everything - but nothing to warm them up and dry them off." She bustled to the fire and put a few extra logs on building it back up. "I'm going to fetch some extra blankets."

Claire reached out and touched Jenny's arm. "How are they?" 

"They'll be needing plenty of rest and food above all else - skin and bones but I couldna tell much more in the dark. Best be ready though," Jenny said with a sad smile. She reached over and tapped William on the nose. "This one won't take but a few minutes more," she informed Claire quietly. As if in response, William burped and Claire felt him settle more comfortably against her, the tension with which he fought to hold his head up fading into dead weight. 

Claire slipped out of the kitchen to fetch the blanket-lined basket she used for William when she brought him about with her - except Jenny had already absconded with the blankets that made it suitable for sleeping. Ducking into the hall with William now deeply asleep, Claire snatched a small cushion as a substitute. When she returned to the kitchen once more, Jamie and Murtagh were guiding two blanket shrouded figures to chairs by the fire while Jenny bustled about heating up some stew and warming bannocks. Ian kept watch by the door, one of the dogs alert at his knees. 

"Claire, ye'll remember Willie and Angus," Jamie said, keeping his voice low and nodding to each figure in turn. 

It was a good thing he did because Claire would not recognize them without it. The baths had washed the surface layers of dirt and grime from their faces and bodies but the degree to which they were both hairy and emaciated created an unnatural and disturbing resemblance. Jenny disappeared outside to fetch the dirty rags they'd been using as clothes and brought them straight to the fire when she returned. 

"I hope ye're no attached to these," she remarked, wiping her hands on her apron. 

"No particularly," Willie responded before sneezing. Jamie crossed to check on William as Claire laid him down in the basket. 

"That yer little one?" Angus asked, the blanket slipping a bit as he turned to face them.

"Our youngest, yes," Claire confirmed. "William is just two months old. Brianna turned seven last November. Now, which of you would prefer to be examined first?" 


	2. Chapter 2

Aside from the simple scrapes and bruises that come from living on the run, there were a few injuries that required more of Claire's attention. Angus had sores on his wrists from having been manacled.

"Got rough wi' a few o' the others and tha' was my punishment," he explained as Claire dabbed a cloth soaked in her diluted alcohol solution, causing him to wince. She twisted his wrists to angle them so the light from the fire fell on them. There was redness and possibly infection but hopefully the alcohol solution would be enough to kill it off.

"Hold your arms like this for a moment," Claire instructed, so Angus would keep them off the table. She moved to her mortar and pestle and ground up a mixture of garlic, thyme, and sage adding a little boiled water to make a poultice, silently thanking the Romans for spreading so many useful herbs to the British Isles. She applied the mixture to Angus' wrists and wrapped them in clean bandages. 

"Why'd ye make me bathe if ye were goin' to make me smell to high hell wi' that?" he objected wrinkling his nose.

"That will help treat any infection and inflammation," Claire informed him. "Now go have something more to eat and remember to go slowly. We don't need any of it coming back up. Willie, your turn."

Having shed their mangy beards, Claire could once more tell the two men apart. Angus had gone quite gray and the lines in his face might be deeper were it not for the hollows left by a combination of under and malnourishment. Prison had aged Willie well beyond his years. Gone were the round cheeks she remembered so well. There was a hardness in his eyes and features that she wasn't used to either. But perhaps that was just the hair cut - in addition to shaving their beards, both men had been divested of most of their hair as well, erring on the side of caution when it came to the likelihood they carried lice. 

Willie had a number of bruises blossoming along his ribs. Claire prodded them gently. "I don't think they're broken," she determined. "But they're deeply bruised. Might I ask how you managed to acquire them?"

"He fell," Angus answered for Willie, speaking around a mouth full of potatoes and turnips. "We've been hiding during the day - best we can, leastways - and movin' at night. This one took a nasty tumble."

"It wasna steep but long and studded wi' boulders," Willie explained, wincing. "Couldna do much once I started rolling except wait to reach the bottom and pray there wasna a ravine."

"Was there?" Jamie asked. His eyes were narrowed as he watched Claire raise Willie's arm to get a better look at the extent of the bruising.

The blanket that had been wrapped around his shoulders fell and Willie grasped the end modestly in his lap. The bruises wrapped around his torso, more concentrated in certain spots then others, some already fading to green while most were still a deep purple. 

"No a ravine," Angus said, answering for Willie again. "A burn."

"Twisted my foot tryin' to get out," Willie told Claire, shifting to raise the appendage before she went after it on her own. She perched on a chair and set the foot in her lap. 

"The joint's a bit swollen - walking on an injury like this will do that - but not so bad as I would have expected. The water in the burn was cold, wasn't it?"

"Aye, and I was soaked through. Only just got dry agin when we got here and were doused just there." 

"I'll wrap it to be on the safe side." Claire set his foot down gingerly as she gathered the longer bandages. "You won't have to worry about me telling you not to use it for a few days. You'll be staying in the priest's hole until we find somewhere nearby that is safe."

"We dinna want to bring the English down on ye," Willie objected.

"From what Murtagh heard and what ye've said, it'll take the English some time to unscramble themselves enough to organize an effective search," Jamie spoke up again. "It may be they decide the few of ye aren't worth the trouble it would take to search for ye or that they dinna want to bother this far out."

Angus scoffed. "They'll no let us go so easily. They like te complain about the cost of keepin' us imprisoned, but they'll hunt us down like foxes for sport now we've run."

"They've eased up on the regular raiding," Ian admitted. He sat near Jamie, arms crossed over his chest. "No much fun in harassing the likes of us in the same way when the Rising was fresh over. But something like this will have their danders up right good."

"I've Murtagh out wi' his ear to the ground," Jamie explained. "He'll ken they're coming and give fair warning here. We'll find somewhere close that'll do for the two of ye so long as there's danger. Ye'll be free to make yer own plans from there."

"Where  _do_ ye plan to go?" Jenny asked. She'd finished putting together a second helping for Willie and had sat down to go through the pile of clothes meant for the two gaunt men, guessing at which would require the fewest adjustments and mending. 

Angus and Willie looked at one another with uncertainty. "To be honest, we were hoping we could roam for a bit and then settle down somewhere... nearby," Willie confessed. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

"Not France, then," Jenny remarked.

Claire pressed her lips together to keep from smiling at the image of Angus and Willie at the French Court - not that that's where they would have wound up should they manage to escape across the channel. She tucked the end of the bandage in and eased Willie's foot out of her lap. 

"We werena keen on transportation to the colonies," Angus pointed out. "It was why we ran."

"I'd have thought the indentured servitude played a role in that decision," Claire observed. Her healing completed, she wiped a hand across her forehead and crossed to sit beside Jamie, gazing down at William asleep in his basket - his brow furrowed every so often and one of his balled up fists twitched. 

"We didna want that, no," Willie agreed. "But we would ha' stayed in prison another two or three years if it meant we could stay in Scotland when we were released."

" _You'd_ have stayed another few years, maybe," Angus scoffed. " _I'd_ ha' found a way out afore then."

"You and I both ken the English moving us was the only chance we had of getting away," Willie disagreed. 

Claire noted the tension in Jamie beside her as he and Ian ignored Willie and Angus' bickering to carry on a silent conversation of their own. 

"How long d'ye think it will take for them to recover enough to move them out of the priest's hole, Sassenach?" Jamie inquired. 

"Ideally, I'd like them to stay there for at least two weeks. They need rest and plenty of food not to mention Willie's ankle," she directed her response at Jamie.

"It willna take more'n a day or two," Willie insisted politely but looked back to his food when Claire glared at him.

"A week," Jamie said. "We'll see how they're doing after a week - the pair of them and the weather - and we can revisit the issue. It could take some time to be sure of a safe place for them nearby, at least until we have a better idea of what the English mean to do about searching for them."

"Do you have somewhere in mind?" Claire asked, her eyes darting to Ian and back to Jamie.

"There's a cave," Ian said quietly. "It's no too far from here-"

"But far enough for our protection," Jamie asserted. "It's no easy to find until ye're right upon it. Should have room for the two of them though it'd be cramped."

"Probably bigger than the priest's hole," Jenny remarked from her seat. She cut her needle loose and held the shirt out to examine it further by the light of the fire. Satisfied, she tossed it at Angus. "Here. There's breeks and a rope ye can use for a belt o'er in the corner." Angus clutched his blanket tightly about him with one hand and the shirt in the other. 

"Tomorrow I'll ride out wi' Fergus to find the cave again - I've no gone lookin' for it since I was a lad and need to be sure of the way. Dinna want to have the two of ye exposed more than is necessary," Jamie explained. "Can get a better idea of how much it can fit far as provisions, as well. Ian'll ride out to find Murtagh and let him know the plan and bring him home."

"How long d'ye think it'd be safe for us to stay there?" Willie asked, eyeing Jamie hopefully.

Jamie shook his head with uncertainty. "I dinna ken. It'll depend on the English. They'll no like the idea of losing prisoners so close to transport. Word'll get out and they dinna come off looking too well. But they're ready for the Rising to be over - it's why they're transporting so many of ye in the first place. Ye'll no be able to use yer proper names perhaps ever - not if ye want to stay in Scotland. But... there may be ways ye can stay under other names..."

Willie glanced to Angus who - even with the rope - was having difficulties keeping his breeks from sliding down his lank frame. Angus did pause in his endeavor long enough to exchange a satisfied nod with Willie, then an appreciative one with Jamie. 

"I canna make promises other than that I'll think on it more and see if there's something I can do that willna put anyone to great risk," Jamie cautioned. 

But it was still better news than the two men could have hoped for in their state. 

"Thank ye, Jamie," Willie said first as Jenny brought another mended shirt and a pair of darned stockings over for him to wear. 

"Get yerself dressed," Jamie instructed gently. "We'll be needing to get ye into the priest's hole and gettin' to bed ourselves or it'll be more'n the handful of us knowing you're here."

"Speaking of," Claire said, closing the lid on her medicine box and bracing her hands on the small of her back to stretch. "I'd best be getting someone upstairs now. Be careful of Willie," she said quietly to Jamie as she leaned into him for a kiss on the forehead. "Don't let him put too much weight on that ankle."

"Aye, Sassenach. We'll manage him," Jamie smiled. He put his lips close to her ear and whispered, "Ye needna wait up for me. Ian and I may stay up a while yet."

"All right," she nodded, then kissed him on the cheek and bent to raise William from his basket. 

She carried the baby up the stairs, pausing and listening as Jenny gathered a few supplies to make the men more comfortable in their temporary quarters. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Brianna had noticed that something was off with her parents and Aunt Jenny and Uncle Ian the previous afternoon. Whatever it was, they were still acting strange the next morning. Murtagh wasn't at breakfast and she didn't see him about the yard either. What she did find was Da saddling up horses and Fergus looking a bit confused as he carried over provisions from Mam.

"Where're ye going, Da?" Brianna asked eagerly. "Are ye hunting? Can I come? I’ve been practicing wi’ my bow."

"Sorry, _mo nighean ruaidh_. Fergus and I are just lookin' over the grounds a bit," Da answered vaguely. "Doing a survey of the terrain to be sure we're using the land properly. Another day when the weather drives us inside, I'll teach ye about crop rotation."

"Is Uncle Ian goin' with ye?" she asked as she realized there was a third horse standing ready.

"No, he has to go meet Murtagh to help him finish a last bit of business to do wi' his trip to Inverness."

Brianna sighed with disappointment.

"Och, dinna look so sad, Bree," Da took to one knee to cheer her up. "Mam and Auntie Jenny will be needing yer help inside today. I'll take ye for a ride sometime next week and ye can bring yer bow along then," he promised. "There's a good lass." He caught the end of her plait between his thumb and fore finger, raising the end to tickle her nose till she laughed. Then he smiled and kissed the top of her head before he turned back to the horses.

Brianna drifted back inside and sought out her mother to see what it was she and Auntie Jenny would need her for.

"Oh, uh... nothing just yet," Mam said with a confused look to Auntie Jenny who didn't seem to have anything for her either.

"Why don't ye play wi' yer cousins out in the yard," Auntie Jenny suggested. "Mind the lot of ye need to stay close to the house. There's word of Red Coats about again."

It had been some time since Red Coats had been to Lallybroch but they'd all seen the marks left about the door by English swords over the years. Brianna dashed off to find Jamie, Maggie, and Kitty.

"I'm going to see if Rabbie will let me help him fix the roof on the barn," Jamie declared when Brianna found them. At fourteen, Jamie considered himself above the play of his younger siblings. Maggie and Kitty were more eager to find something that would keep them out of sight and out of mind, afraid that staying inside might result in their being dragged into helping with a task like laundry, but they were fresh out of suggestions for what to do with their time off from lessons and chores.

"Did Mam say why we didna have to practice our French and sums?" Kitty inquired. Maggie elbowed her sister hard.

"Why must ye question a thing like that? It doesna matter so much as what we do with the time we've been given," Maggie scolded. "I want to go somewhere."

"We canna go far from the house," Brianna said, relaying Auntie Jenny's warning about the Red Coats. Her three older cousins' eyes widened at the mention of the English.

"Why would they be about these parts again?" Maggie asked doubtfully. "If they're coming, there must be a reason."

"I dinna think she was saying they were coming to Lallybroch. They mayna be near at all," Brianna cautioned to calm her cousin down.

"The English being about is probably why Uncle Jamie and Fergus went out," Jamie reasoned. "He'll want to keep an eye on things."

Brianna shook her head, unable to shake the feeling that there was something more going on. "There’s something more to it than just the English. They dinna usually cancel all our lessons like this. And Mam gave Fergus more than he and Da would need if they were just lookin’ over the fields.”

“D’ye think they’re goin’ somewhere else?” Kitty asked.

Brianna shrugged at first but the more she thought about it, the more certain she grew that Da did have something more than fields and crops on his mind - and it was related to whatever business Uncle Ian and Murtagh were taking care of. 

“If ye’re so desperate to figure it out, why don ye just follow them?” Jamie suggested before walking off in search of Rabbie. 

A sly smile bloomed on Brianna’s face as she turned to see whether Maggie and Kitty were interested in joining her in the venture. 


	5. Chapter 5

They waited for Da and Fergus to ride out of the yard and just out of sight before running off to follow them, keeping low and ducking behind whatever cover was available and praying neither man looked back or spotted them. Just before they'd departed, Maggie had grabbed Brianna's arm and made her wait while she fetched a bonnet to cover her flaming hair. 

"They might miss us looking back quick like," Maggie explained, "but if they spotted yer hair, they'd ken for sure what we were up to."

Brianna fidgeted with the head covering - like Mam and Auntie Jenny, she wasn't fond of wearing anything on her head. It was too big and kept slipping down over her ears, hindering her ability to hear and making her appreciate for the first time just how much she relied on it to orient herself. She was constantly turning her head and asking Maggie and Kitty to repeat what they'd said, their whispers too low for her to catch the first time. 

Whatever Da and Fergus were up to, it wasn't checking the fields. They seemed to have a set place in mind for a while and moved at a quick pace. It was difficult for the three girls to keep up on foot and Kitty grew bored and disinterested fast. 

"I want to head back," she whined after they'd been following the horses for half an hour. "Ye said Mam and Auntie Claire didna want us straying too far. How long d'ye think it'll be till they've noticed we've gone?"

Maggie scrunched her face up in concentration for a few moments before telling Kitty, "Why don  _you_ go back then? Ye can keep Mam from noticing we're gone."

"I don't want to go back by myself," Kitty objected.

"Well then stop yer complaining and come along," Brianna scolded as she rose to glance after Da and Fergus.

They'd strayed from the path and had headed for the sparse woods that rose along with the hillside. Lallybroch was nestled in a valley and they'd been heading up and out of it for some time. Brianna had suspected they might be headed for Broch Murdha since Uncle Ian had headed in the other direction, back along the path that headed toward Inverness. Brianna dropped to her belly and hissed at Maggie and Kitty to follow suit. Da and Fergus had stopped the horses along the tree line and dismounted. If they were meeting someone, they were apparently meeting them in the rough terrain of the woods and didn't want to risk injuring the horses. 

"If they're headed in there," Maggie began in a tone of voice that already had Brianna rolling her eyes and setting her jaw in determination, "I think we should head back. We canna follow them so easily in the woods and I dinna want Uncle Jamie catching me like that."

"The two of  _you_ can go back if ye like," Brianna insisted, "but I'm no done - not until I know where they're going."

"Ye ken where they're going," Maggie argued. "They're going into the woods and likely hunting something or other."

"No, Da said they werena hunting this time," Brianna shook her head.

"He likely said that cause he kent ye'd want to go too," Maggie pointed out. "Ye're still learning and tracking through the woods is difficult and dangerous. Uncle Jamie'd no risk it till he was surer of what ye can do."

"I'm following them." Brianna didn't wait for Maggie to keep talking. She held her cap to her head and scurried across to where Da and Fergus had tied the horses. Maggie shook her head before turning back with a much relieved Kitty. 

At the edge of the woods Brianna was confronted with her limited knowledge of tracking. Da had shown her the footprints of different creatures in the mud or the snow - the deep depression a stag's foot made as opposed to the shallow prints of a rabbit. Once he'd even found a wolf's print - like the pelt Mam had stashed away but never wore - and showed her the subtle differences between the wolf's paw and one of the dog's. But she couldn't find any clear prints from where she stood at the edge of the wood. There were too many other things on the ground - dead and rotting leaves, fallen twigs and branches, exposed rocks that weren't easily marked. She thought she could make out a boot print where Da had gotten off the horse and squinting, was able to follow his trail  _to_ the trees but lost it before she'd made it more than a few meters in. She remembered something about looking for broken branches and twigs where creatures - or in this case, a large man like Da - might have had to push through, but if they were there, she didn't see them.

Brianna refused to turn back and admit that Maggie and Kitty had been right - not to mention the fact she still didn't know  _why_ Da had come this way - so after a few minutes of indecision, Brianna pulled her cap off so she could rely on her ears once more, picked a direction, and stalked off as quietly as she could. The sound of Da and Fergus in the woods would be her only chance of finding them.


	6. Chapter 6

Claire worked on distilling herbs in the stillroom with William napping in his basket in the corner. The window of the stillroom overlooked the road so she would easily see Ian returning with Murtagh or Jamie and Fergus as they came back from seeking the cave. Jenny was working with Mrs. Crook in the kitchen, the two of them chattering noisily with brief interruptions for Jenny to scuttle wee Ian away from the hearth and back over to little Michael and Janet where they were quietly playing in a corner.

"Keep an eye on yer brother, now," Jenny instructed them though they were only four themselves and wee Ian proved a fair match to any of the adults when he was of a determined mind - and since he'd learned to walk and climb, he'd become very determined on mischief. 

Claire glanced down to William in his basket, his arms raised at either side of his head and his hands fisted; he also had his legs bent at the knees and tucked up to his chest. It wasn't an unusual position for him to sleep in though she had no notion of why he found it so comfortable. Brianna had been a belly sleeper from the start, sticking her bottom into the air while her cheek was pressed flat to whatever surface she might slumber on - it had been impossible to get her to sleep in something as convenient as a basket. 

As Claire heard the familiar clatter and scolding from the kitchen as little Ian found his way onto a chair and pulled something from the table - a large wooden spoon from the sound of it - it occurred to her that, despite the open window, she couldn't hear the older children playing, though they'd been sent outside several hours earlier. She registered the banging of Rabbie MacNab fixing the barn roof - a chore she'd begged him to put off until he could have Jamie to help him. Jamie had been on Rabbie's side explaining that replacing a few shingles hardly required two men and to put it off meant the creatures inside would have to suffer if it rained. Somewhere in the rhythmic pounding of nails, Claire had lost track of the girls' voices. 

Keeping her eyes on William in his basket, she moved to the door to ask Jenny, "Do you know where the girls wandered off to? Are they still in the yard?"

Jenny and Mrs. Crook exchanged confused glances before Jenny moved out to check the yard herself muttering, "They ken better than to go far with the Red Coats about - they ken better than to leave the yard when I tell them not or they'll get a right hiding when I lay my hands on them."

Claire ducked back into the stillroom to take up William in his basket, moving slowly so as not to wake him. He sighed, thoroughly asleep. Claire handed him over to Mrs. Crook's care and followed Jenny out into the yard to search for the three older girls. 

"They're no out this way," Jenny called, rounding the corner of the house and coming back from where they usually did the washing at the side of the yard. 

The echo of Rabbie's hammer as he worked on the roof drifted to Claire, setting her off in pursuit of it. 

"Rabbie! Jamie!" she called, lifting her skirts out of the way so she could step around the discarded fragments of the shingles he'd tossed to the ground as he replaced them. "Do either of you know where the girls might be playing?" 

Rabbie shook his head and resumed his work but there was a moment of hesitation from young Jamie before he too took up the task she'd interrupted. Claire wasn't the only one to pick up on it.

"James Murray, get down here right now," Jenny ordered. 

Young Jamie swallowed and Rabbie gave him a brief look of sympathy as he took the stack of shingles back from him. 

Jenny had her son by the ear before his feet had touched the ground. "Where've yer sisters and cousin gone? We told them no to leave the yard but canna find them about."

"Uncle Jamie said he and Fergus were looking at the fields but Bree didna believe him."

"So they followed him?" Claire asked desperately. "Do you know how long ago it was they went after him?"

Her nephew shook his head, shrinking in on himself as Jenny let go of his ear long enough to swipe him upside the head in reproach. "Did ye no think of discouraging such foolishness? There's word of Red Coats about and I ken yer cousin told ye so or ye'd no look so sheepish now. Ye're older and should ken better than to let them wander off."

"I figured they'd catch up and Uncle Jamie would send them back if they didna meet Da on his way back wi' Murtagh from whatever it was they had to do," young Jamie rationalized quickly. His efforts only earned him another disgusted smack from Jenny. 

"Right. Go inside and help Mrs. Crook keep an eye on the young ones. It seems yer Auntie Claire and I have to go find the girls," she instructed, raising dust along with her skirts as she turned sharply on her heel. 


	7. Chapter 7

There were only two horses left in the barn and those hadn't been saddled in quite a while having been used mostly for pulling the plow or a wagon now and again. 

"Those girls," Jenny seethed as she tightened the girth on her horse and prayed the worn leather would hold. "They'll no be leaving the house for a year if I have my way." She swung up into the saddle. 

"They can't have gone too far," Claire tried to reassure herself and Jenny. "Jamie and Fergus would have been going too fast for them to keep up. They'll probably have given up and turned back." She glanced back at the house, reluctant to leave Mrs. Crook and young Jamie alone with the children and no one there who knew about Angus and Willie hiding in the priest's hole. But perhaps it was safest that way. If Red Coats should happen on the house in their absence, there was no one there who would actively be lying to them about having seen the missing men. 

"The further they've strayed from the yard," Jenny said as she took up the reins, "the more trouble they'll find themselves in so for their sakes, I hope ye're right about them being smart enough to turn back. But as they've left in the first place, I dinna have such high hopes as to their intelligence on the matter." She gave her horse a kick and Claire followed suit, both of them turning to the road Jamie and Fergus had disappeared along earlier. 

* * *

 

Maggie and Kitty had made it about two-thirds of the way back home before they had to stop and rest along the roadside, their legs tired and their feet aching. They could tell based on how hungry they were that they had been gone far too long and were almost certain to find themselves in trouble when they arrived at home. The knowledge of their coming punishment inspired further delays - though they didn't know what it might be, they were familiar with their mother and knew whatever she chose was certain to be unpleasant. 

"Maybe they'll be sa worrit at our being gone that when they see us agin, they'll be sa relieved and they'll forget to punish us," Kitty remarked wistfully. 

Maggie didn't need to tell Kitty how absurd and unlikely that scenario was. 

As they resumed trudging back toward the house, the girls heard their names being called and recognized their mother's and aunt's voices all too well. They steeled themselves for their scolding.

"Margaret and Katherine Murray!" Jenny yelled, pulling up on her horse's reins and leaping down from the saddle. The girls huddled together as their mother towered in front of them with her hands on her hips. "What in the name of the almighty do ye think ye've been doing wandering so far from the yard with Red Coats about? Ye ken better than this and ye'll be regretting yer disobedience for a long time to come, I can promise ye that."

"Where's Bree?" Claire asked, remaining on her horse and glancing about in search of her daughter's shock of red hair. All she saw to either side she looked was a wash of browns and fading greens as the fields and woods blended together into a wintery dullness. "Your brother said she was with you. Where's she gone?"

"When Uncle Jamie and Fergus went into the wood, we turned back but Bree didna want to. She followed them," Kitty said quickly under her mother's angry eye. 

"Ye left her on her own?" Jenny hollered in exasperation once more. "Does a one of ye have the sense ye were born with or did each and every one of ye trade it for mischief?" she exclaimed as she gave her two daughters smacks to the back of the head employing the same method she'd used on their brother earlier. "Right then. One of ye ride wi' me and the other wi' yer Auntie Claire. Ye're going to show us exactly where it is ye've come from and ye'll help us find yer cousin."

Maggie and Kitty knew better than to complain about how tired they were. They'd never seen Auntie Claire look so worried and the fact that Mam hadn't bent them over right there in the road to administer the first round of hidings showed how desperate they were to find Brianna.

"Ye dinna think the Red Coats have taken her?" Kitty whispered to Maggie as Mam and Auntie Claire pulled their horses alongside one another for Mam to reassure Auntie Claire. 

Maggie shook her head but there was concern in her eyes that made Kitty press her lips together until they'd begun moving again, all of them keeping their eyes open for movement or any other sign of Brianna.

They had to move slower because of the girls' extra weight and the horses' advanced age so it was another while before something caught Claire's eye up ahead. She urged her horse to go faster as she became increasingly certain that what had caught her eye was the sun glinting off of Brianna's red hair.

Except it wasn't Brianna. It was Jamie and Fergus. 

When Jamie recognized Claire and Jenny, he sped his horse up to meet them.

"What's happened? Why're ye not at home?"

"Is Brianna with you?" Claire asked desperately despite the fact that it was clear the two men were alone but for their horses. 

"Brianna? Why would she be with me?"

"She followed ye into the woods, Uncle Jamie," Maggie spoke up from her seat in front of Claire.

"Did ye no come across her on yer way back out again?" Jenny asked. Her anger with her daughters had faded to the background as she watched Claire's eyes become increasingly wild in their searching. Seeing her brother's face drain of color made her tighten her hold on Kitty who was riding with her. 

"No," Jamie said quietly. He looked to Claire who was blinking back terrified tears. Something in her expression caused his to harden. "Right then. Maggie, you ride with Fergus. Jenny, you and Fergus take the girls back to the house. Ian and Murtagh should be back by the time ye arrive. Tell them what's happened and send Murtagh out to join us in searching. Claire..." he sidled his horse up beside hers while Fergus pulled up along her other side and Maggie transitioned from one horse to the other. 

"Claire," Jamie whispered to his wife, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "We'll find her,  _mo nighean donn._ I promise, we'll find her. She canna have got too far in the woods and if she was able to track us as she meant to do, she'll perhaps be resting in the cave. It didna take long for me to remember where it was and it's a right bonny hiding place. She'll be tired from walking so far and is likely napping inside it now."

Claire nodded because she wanted to believe him but she knew - and knew he was aware - that if Brianna had been able to follow him and Fergus closely enough, they'd have come across her on their way back out from the cave. 

Once Maggie was settled on Fergus' horse, the four of them turned back along the road and headed for Lallybroch at a steady clip while Claire and Jamie continued retracing his journey out to the woods. "We'll be on the place where she would have gone in soon," Jamie assured Claire. "She'll be easy enough to track from there if she did lose her way."

"Jamie, what's that?" Claire gasped. She'd seen a flash of red. 


	8. Chapter 8

Jamie squinted into the distance, tensing when he noted who it was coming towards them.

"Red Coats," he hissed to Claire before glancing over his shoulder in the direction Jenny and Fergus had gone, knowing it was too soon for them to have reached Lallybroch, too soon for Murtagh to be on his way to help them search for Brianna. Though given their unexpected company, not having Murtagh about might not be a bad thing after all. "Follow my lead, Sassenach."

The duo of Red Coats had spotted them and shifted their path to intercept Jamie and Claire. 

"Hullo there," one of the soldiers called out to them - officers, both of them based on their uniforms, though dusty and they had clearly been wearing them for some time. 

"Aye. Is there something we can do for you, sir, or are we free to go about our business? We're pressed for time I'm afraid, my wife and I," Jamie addressed the soldiers curtly. 

The soldiers were taken aback and put on guard. The one who'd first addressed them looked particularly displeased. "Captain Jeremy Foster of his majesty's army," he introduced himself. 

"Major John Grey," his companion added with a little more politeness than his inferior officer. "We're searching the area for several escaped prisoners. Have you seen anyone unfamiliar in the vicinity in the last few days?"

"I canna say as I have but I'm afraid my mind's a bit distracted at the moment," Jamie answered. "Ye see, our daughter's wandered off. We're out here searching for her but canna find any sign of her."

"Her name is Brianna," Claire chimed in. The soldiers started mildly at her accent, just as Jamie had hoped they would. "She's seven, red hair like my husband's, she's been gone for several hours now. It'll be getting dark soon and we simply must find her before then."

"Calm down madam," Grey instructed gently. "We've not seen any children along this stretch. But I assure you if we do come across her, we'll bring her home to you..."

"Lallybroch," Jamie answered. "It's just a few miles further up that way. Ye canna miss it. My sister and her husband will be there if we dinna cross paths again."

"I'm afraid I didn't catch your name, sir," Grey noted.

"James Fraser. This is my wife, Claire."

"Fraser, eh?" Foster's attention perked. "Any relation to the one they called... Old Fox?"

"Aye. We're a wayward branch of that family tree. From what I heard, he didna approve of my choice of wife. Hardly to be expected given his leanings," Jamie answered carefully. "As ye might have guessed, I'm a wee bit more partial to the English than most around these parts." 

"Jamie," Claire said, the worry in her voice calling the officers' attention back to their purpose in being out. "Brianna."

"Of course, madam," Grey started apologetically. "Your daughter. I pray you find her safe and well."

"And we'll keep a lookout for yer prisoners as well. Is there anything ye can say to describe them? They must be something for the army to send officers after them and no common soldiers."

"Twas common soldiers from whom they escaped," Foster explained, his frustration only just in check. "They're Jacobites who are overdue for transportation. Not much to look at as they'll have been on the run for several days now in their prison rags - and I doubt such a life is likely to improve their overall condition. Are you aware of any remaining sympathizers in the area who might be tempted to shelter or aid such men?"

Jamie shook his head slowly in contemplation. "I dinna ken anyone who'd take such a risk - certainly none as would speak of such sympathies where me or any of mine could hear though the woods hereabouts..." He glanced to Claire and then gave a look to the major, bringing his horse up closer to the English soldier's. He leaned in and spoke low so that only the other men could hear. "These prisoners... d'ye think they'd grab a lass like that? D'ye think they'd take my daughter if she happened across them while tryin' to find her way home? I don't wish to frighten my wife if there's little chance that her missing is connected to these escaped men."

The officers blinked and looked to each other before the major spoke up. "There is no indication either way, I'm afraid. The crimes for which they are imprisoned were not of that nature but given their desperation to keep their presence unknown... I wouldn't mention it to your wife, no. There's no need for that just now. Hopefully, we'll locate the men and it will not be an issue."

"I hope to settle the issue by finding my daughter. If there's anyone has done harm to her, I assure ye I'll see to it they receive it back threefold," Jamie stated, ending on a serious note. 

"I don't blame you one bit," Foster admitted. "But we should part and let you continue with your search while we resume ours."

"Aye. Thank ye for whatever ye can do for our Brianna."

"Not at all," Grey said with a polite nod to Claire and then to Jamie. Foster followed suit but with less enthusiasm and a bit more wariness. 

Jamie let the officers depart first, watching them head back the way they came for a ways, taking greater care of observing side where the treeline was prominent. When he saw their direction, he cursed under his breath.

"What? What is it?" Claire asked confused.

"They've gone back the way we need to go to get to the cave. I dinna wish to lead them to it or we'll no be able to use it for Willie and Angus."

"But that's the direction Maggie and Kitty said Brianna took."

"Aye. It is." He sighed again and looked over his shoulder. Still no sign of Murtagh. When he appeared, Jamie would need to send him right back again to warn Jenny and Ian about the Red Coats, to keep Willie and Angus in the priest's hole instead of allowing them up to the kitchen after the children were abed. "Come, Sassenach. We'll go along the trees and call to her." He kicked his horse towards the trees, stopping at the forest's edge and peering in, glancing at the ground for signs Brianna might have wandered from her original path and emerged from the woods on her way home.

"Do you think you've put them far enough off the scent of Willie and Angus?" Claire asked as they progressed slowly towards the place where Jamie and Fergus had entered the woods in pursuit of the cave. 

"I dinna ken that but it doesna sound like they ken what the pair of 'em look like. If they continue on searching further and further north, we might be able to get Willie and Angus into the open under fresh names before the search comes back this way. But we'll deal wi' that as it comes," he said before he began calling Brianna's name into the trees. 


	9. Chapter 9

Brianna pushed her way through the woods for a while before she decided she must have followed the wrong trail. When she stood quietly and listened to the woods around her, she heard a few birds and the wind in the branches overhead, but none of the rustlings she would have heard if Da or Fergus were anywhere nearby - Da could move quietly but he was too big to move silently and Fergus was quiet in a crowd but in the woods he was to heavy of foot. 

Frustrated, Brianna turned back around and began following her own obvious trail back towards the spot where she'd left the road and entered the woods. It would be almost impossible to find Da and Fergus now. She had no way of knowing where they were headed or how long they would be gone or what they were up to. Her attempt to figure things out had been a disaster and she was of a mind to give up and head for home - she might even be able to catch up with Maggie and Kitty because even though she was smaller than they were, she walked faster and Kitty liked to take long breaks. 

She thought the trail she'd left was easy to follow but apparently she'd been better at keeping her path hidden. She came upon an area where the trees thinned out but it stretched too far without the road in sight. It was an area she didn't recognize from her journey into the woods. She looked to the position of the sun overhead, peeking through the trees - she'd been gone longer than she realized. She should have been back to where Da and Fergus had left the horses by now.

Brianna swallowed hard and her breathing grew shallow - she was lost. Her thoughts must have distracted her as she walked so that she didn't realize she had gone astray until she was so far gone... Panic began setting in. Only Maggie and Kitty and Jamie knew she'd come out this way and only Maggie and Kitty knew she'd gone into the woods. They wouldn't be home for a while and they wouldn't say anything that might get her in trouble... which meant no one knew to look for her. 

Her only hope was to find Da and Fergus -  _if_ they were still in the woods at all. Having taken the path she did and not expecting anyone to be following them, Da and Fergus could easily have finished with whatever chore they had to do and gone home, walking right by the trail she'd made. 

Desperate, Brianna pushed forward and began to call out. "Da!" she cried, pausing as she did and turning her head about frantically to listen for a response. She charged ahead a ways more and called again, "Da! Fergus!" There was no response. 

Tears pricked in her eyes and her voice wouldn't go as high or as loud as she wanted. The next time she called, "Da," it was a loud sob and after that she doubted he'd have heard her if she was within sight of him. She had wandered back to the area where the trees were thin. She hadn't even be trying to get back there - she thought she'd been headed toward the road, hadn't even realized the way her path had curved back toward the way she'd come. There was a rocky rising to one end of the area and Brianna moved over the sit on one of the broad grey protrusions and cry. 

Brianna wasn't one to cry for long. When she got emotional, it tended to happen in explosive bursts of feeling that spent themselves quickly and allowed her to regroup and decide whether something was worth remaining upset over or if it was something she could - with her dignity intact - let go. She sat on the rock going over her options for what she could do - at that point it was only a matter of time before Maggie and Kitty realized she must be in trouble and spoke up, so Da, Fergus, Murtagh, maybe even Uncle Ian and Jamie would be looking for her. She only had to wait for someone to find her. But patience was something she ran out of quickly and distraction took over. Her thoughts turned to what Mam and Da would say when they did find her, how disappointed they would be that she had disobeyed and the fact that she only had herself to blame for whatever fear she felt on her own account. The thought of Mam and Da worrying about her brought fresh tears to her eyes, but before she could give over to her guilt something caught her attention.

A noise off to her right. She shrank back against the rock trying to melt into it as she peered through the trees. It could be anything from a deer to a wolf to Da. She drew a deep breath to call out but it died before reaching her lips as her eyes went wide. Red Coats. Auntie Jenny had said there were rumors of Red Coats about but it had been a few years since any had come to Lallybroch and she hadn't even thought of them venturing into the woods - they stuck to the roads and came into the house and yard but they didn't go out into the fields or the forest on the estate. 

Until now. There were two of them and they seemed to be looking for something. She didn't stick around to find out what it was. As soon as she was sure their heads were turned away from her, she made her move, scrambling over the rockier ground and heading further along and up the rocky rise.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Major Grey and Captain Foster had their eyes trained in opposite directions as they continued slowly along the road looking for any sign of their quarry. 

"I know what you told the parents of the young girl, but do you truly think they would leave her unmolested if they came across her?" Foster asked his companion. 

"I can believe that they might be desperate enough to silence any they feel might be a threat to them," Grey said with a bit of sorrow. "I'd like to think that they would find the locals and their prospective outrage should harm come to the child to be a sufficient deterrent... but again... desperation sends men to unfathomable lengths. If they did happen to come across her... I think the most that can be hoped is that they would leave her bound somewhere to be found after they had time to clear well out."

"That would likely still work out poorly for the girl," Foster pointed out.

"I agree. While we cannot suspend our search to seek the girl, we might assist in locating our prisoners in a timely manner and removing at least one threat to her."

"We might question them when we find them as well."

They moved in silence for a time, their eyes examining the terrain for signs they might have missed on their first pass. They'd successfully tracked the men to a wooded area outside of a small town called Cranesmuir. The pair of prisoners they'd been sent to locate had been from the clan whose seat was not far from there so the officers thought they might have been stashed away by sympathizers who'd known the men - except that the pair had left a trail out of the area, not so clear as to be conspicuous, so Grey was fairly certain it hadn't been left as a diversion. Still, they'd lost the trail out on the moor where rain a week before had muddled what tracks they might have left. It should also, however, have left the ground soft enough for their latest tracks to be clear as long as Grey and Foster could stumble upon them while the conditions remained convenient. 

"Sir," Foster spoke up, pointing to a spot along the tree line. "It might be nothing more than a local hunting party but the ground over there has been disturbed."

They rode over to the area near the woods and dismounted, Foster holding the horses while Grey crouched to examine the ground. "There's certainly been foot traffic here - horses and boots. It's likely locals but if our prisoners  _have_ had assistance..."

Foster was already hobbling the horses and checking his pistols. 

"Don't shoot until you are absolutely certain of what you're shooting at," Grey instructed making sure his own firearms and sword were properly secured. "The last thing we want to do is fire at a bit of movement and discover we've stumbled upon that missing child."

Foster nodded thought his tense jaw suggested he had hoped his superior officer had a little more respect for his intelligence. The two officers slipped into the trees and began to survey the area. Grey picked up on what looked like two trails heading in opposite directions. He pulled out his sword and marked the bark of a nearby tree. "We keep together. There are two of them if they don't have assistance and two of us. We can't afford to split up and find ourselves out numbered. If this trail proves fruitless, we can return and try the other."

"Yes, sir."

Grey moved in the lead with Foster pausing to glance back regularly. The sun was sinking and the dimness of the woods was making it difficult to move silently. The fresh marks on the trees that Grey cut were light enough in contrast to the bark itself that they showed prominently, signaling the way back. They reached a point in the trail that made Grey pause. "It looks like another trail breaks off here... or joins this one, I suppose... The tread is heavier moving in this direction. Might mean multiple trips... If they know the area, they could have split up upon entering to try and confuse the trail and then here would be where they met up again."

"Then let us press forward a little further before abandoning the search for the night. We can ride ahead to that couple's house for the night - inquire after the girl's whereabouts and resume our search in the morning," Foster suggested. 

"We will see if they've located the girl first. If they haven't, I don't want to impose when their attention is needed elsewhere."

The terrain soon became rockier and the incline steeper. Thinner trees made walking and searching easier though the angle of the sun continued to work against them.

"I heard something in that direction," Foster declared suddenly, his body springing towards the sound in pursuit. Grey was only a few steps behind him hoping it hadn't been a stag or some other animal life that Foster had detected - he didn't want them to inadvertently alert the escaped prisoners to their presence in that way. 

They hadn't gone very far before the being they pursued tripped and went sprawling. The cry that reached their ears pulled them up short - it was a child, almost certainly the lost local child whose parents they had encountered earlier.

Grey held out an arm to urge Foster to take a few steps back and make a sweep of the immediate area - there was a minuscule chance the prisoners had had possession of the child and abandoned her when she failed to keep up during their pursuit. 

The child lay trembling and whimpering on its belly with its hands clasped over its head. She. A female child, that was right - the man... Fraser - it was Fraser's daughter. 

"Pardon me, miss," he said gently as he knelt on the ground a few feet from the girl. He put his hands on his thighs and sat on his heels as he spoke to her. "I'm Major John Grey of His Majesty's army. My fellow officer and I are searching the area for two escaped prisoners and were wondering if you might be able to enlighten us at all as to their whereabouts." 

It caught Brianna off guard - the way the Red Coat officer addressed her. She turned her head to face him but remained silent, her whimpers calming. 

"We came across a man and a woman who were searching for their missing daughter," he added. "Would you happen to know of her whereabouts as well? I wouldn't be surprised to discover that these woods are famous for such disappearances." 

Brianna lifted her head and blinked at Grey, her eyes narrowed as she decided what to make of him - Red Coats could be tricky when they wanted to be and she had the sense that this one might be teasing her. 

He raised his hand cautiously and reached it out towards her. "Is it all right if I help you to your feet, miss? My mother raised me to assist young women in rising."

Brianna looked at his hand and ignored it, pushing up on her own hands and getting her feet back under her, brushing her skirts free of dirt and the debris of the forest floor. Grey rose to his feet as well. He eyed the bonnet on her head. "Would you remind removing that?" he pointed. He was fairly certain from the way she looked at him that the girl belonged to the distraught parents - the mother had mentioned that the girl's coloring was that of the father's but the resemblance was far stronger than that. She slipped the brown bonnet from her head and a shockingly ruddy plait slipped free along with a number of strands that had come loose during whatever exertions she'd engaged in. 

"If your last name is Fraser, your parents are worried sick over you. When my companion returns, we'll bring you home to them," Grey explained. 

The girl's expression remained remarkably stoic but she nodded her understanding as she put her hat back on her head. 

Grey straightened and looked up along the rocky ridge for Foster before glancing back over his shoulder at the marked trees and the sky above. It would be nearly dark by the time they made it back to the horses. The search for the prisoners would have to be suspended for the night but with the missing girl in their custody, he didn't think the grateful parents would grudge the two officers a bed for the night and a spot of supper. 

"Major," Foster's voice called to him from further along the rocky ridge. "You need to see this."


	11. Chapter 11

Major Grey rose from his crouch and implored Brianna to stay put, then moved towards his companion along the rocky slope.

“There’s a cave up here,” Captain Foster explained, looking over his shoulder at the fading light in the sky. “It’s difficult to make out in this light but I believe there are indications that men have been here recently. It could be our fugitives.”

Grey followed Foster up to the mouth of the cave. “Good work, Foster,” he complimented the other man. “Tricky spot from below. Certainly an ideal hiding place for two men on the run. It’s far enough from the road they might’ve stayed for weeks or more without alerting the locals to their presence. You think the men have moved on?”

“Even with a location as convenient as this, they must know the army is searching for them,” Foster reasoned. “Their best chances would be to continue north and eventually to get away from Scotland altogether.”

“That is their safest bet,” Grey agreed. “We should come out here again in the morning—see if there are any indications that they’ve returned to the spot during the night. If they hear how close we are they may decide to flee and we can pick up their trail.”

“And if they’ve already gone on, sir,” Foster queried. “Will returning not lose us time?”

“An hour—maybe two. But it’s been several days now. They’ll be desperate for food and rest not to mention they’re likely to have suffered injuries along the way,” Grey reminded Foster. “They can’t sustain their pace on foot for long with no provisions. We’ll find them yet. In the mean time… I think we might return that girl to her parents and perhaps enjoy their hospitality for the night.”

“Yes, sir,” Foster acquiesced.

They turned and made their way back to the girl who looked distressed.

“Don’t worry,” Grey consoled the girl, reaching out to take her hand. “We’re on our way back to your parents now. You’ll be home and safe in your bed before long.”

The girl looked at his hand but hesitated to take it.

“Captain Foster,” Grey said, looking to his companion, “please, lead the way.”

Foster nodded and turned to follow the marks they’d left on the trees as they made their way into the woods.

* * *

 Brianna thought about running when the pair of Red Coats walked off along the rocky rise but she quickly gave up the idea—she would just wind up lost again and the two men had said they would be bringing her home to Mam and Da. Of course, she also knew that Red Coats weren’t to be trusted. She also considered following them and listening to what they said.

This was the idea she went with, creeping along the ridge after them as the one led the other to his discovery. She remained only as close as was necessary to hear them so she didn’t see the cave itself but a small wave of panic washed through her as she heard them discussing the escaped prisoners.

She’d come into the woods after Da and Fergus but had lost their trail. What if this was the way they’d come?

The soldiers mentioned turning back so Brianna scurried back to the place where they’d left her and fought to control her features—she’d seen Da do as much before and tried to imitate the look he would adopt when he did.

It was when one of the soldiers started to lead the way out of the woods that Brianna noticed the marks on the trees. She wished she’d thought of something like that to help her find her way back out but at the time, she was actively trying to conceal her presence—still, it might be a tactic that came in useful in the future.

The sun had sunk below the trees when they emerged from the woods and came upon the soldiers’ horses.

“Come along then,” the soldier who had introduced himself as Major Grey told her as he held his hands cupped to help her up onto his horse. “You’ll ride with me.”

Before she could put her foot in his hands, a voice called out to them.

“Da!” she exclaimed running away from the soldiers and towards her father.

“Bree!” her mother cried out, leaping from her horse almost before it had stopped. Da reached her first, sweeping her up into his arms.

“Ye had us worried out of our minds, _mo nighean ruaidh_ ,” he scolded her. “We’ve been searching for ye for hours now.”

“I’m sorry, Da. I got lost,” she whispered to him, wanting to say more but knowing it wasn’t the time with the Red Coats behind her.

“Thank you so much for finding her,” Mam was saying to the soldiers. “If there is anything we can do to help you in return…”

“We were wondering, madam, if you and your husband would mind sheltering us for the night,” Major Grey asked hesitantly.

“Aye,” Da said with a harder note in his voice. “Ye may. We’ve a bit of space in the barn for yer horses and there should be room on the floor of the hall if ye dinna mind the dogs.”

“We can shut them up in the kitchen, Jamie,” Mam insisted. “And there’s extra ticking and blankets so we can make the floor comfortable for you, as well. We’re full up in the house as it is, I’m afraid.”

“Thank you, madam,” Foster said with a bow towards Mam. “And you too, sir.”

“Come then, _a leannan_ ,” Da said, setting Bree upon his horse before swinging up on behind her. “If ye’ll follow me, officers.” He urged his horse forward, one hand clasping the reins while the other arm was wrapped around Brianna’s middle, holding her steady. “Dinna think ye’ll escape punishment,” he said quietly in Brianna’s ear. “When these Red Coats have gone in the morning, I’ll be expecting to see ye in my study to face the consequences for yer foolishness.”

Brianna gulped but nodded, her head resting against Da’s chest.


	12. Chapter 12

A short time after parting with the Red Coats, Murtagh had reached Jamie and Claire to assist in the search for Brianna. Jamie instructed him to instead return to Lallybroch and warn Jenny and Ian of the Red Coats’ proximity and to see to Angus and Willie’s needs quickly as they were likely to be housing the soldiers for the night.

“I dinna see why,” Murtagh muttered. “And ye’ll need every eye available to find Bree.”

“Maggie and Kitty said she’s was following me and Fergus. She’ll not have got too far from where we were in the wood,” Jamie reasoned. “We’ll find her if not by nightfall then shortly after and if we don’t, the Red Coats will. Either way, the pair of them will be looking for quarter and we’re the closest house of a size where it will be easy to accommodate them.”

“Ye’d have the Red Coats in the house wi’ the two they’re lookin’ for right under their noses? And ye expect te get away wi’ it? Is it a wonder the lass went wandering off after ye? She got yer sense along wi’ yer hair and eyes,” Murtagh ranted as he continued to resist Jamie’s instructions.

“The officers think we were sympathetic to the crown during the Rising,” Claire explained.

“And why would they think that?”

“Because tha’s what I led them to believe,” Jamie snapped. “They ken my name isna among the prominent Jacobites and hearing Claire it was easy to persuade them o’ the idea. Lettin’ them into the house—feeding them, giving them beds for the night, a place to rest their horses—it’ll only put us further from suspicion. Who’d be mad enough to bring Red Coats into the house when they’re hiding the men the Red Coats are searching for?”

“Only you ye dolt,” Murtagh quipped as he turned and rode back to the house again.

Jamie and Claire continued searching the woods along the side of the road, calling for Brianna and pausing every so often to listen for a response or venture in a short distance to search for signs she’d been through. Jamie cursed when they came upon the Red Coats’ horses at the spot where he and Fergus had ventured into the woods. “I hope neither of them has much gift for tracking,” he murmured to Claire. “If they come upon the cave we meant for Angus and Willie… it will be trickier to find something as safe for them and for us.”

He turned their horses back a bit until they were just out of sight of soldiers’ mounts, then he dismounted and handed the reins to Claire. “Stay here. I’ll go see if I can hear where they’ve got to—and Brianna is likely to be near here too,” he added when he saw Claire about to object.

She waited impatiently doing what she could to peer through the trees after Jamie and listening intently. She wouldn’t be able to rest until Brianna was safe and the Red Coats were well away from Lallybroch and at the moment, there was no way of telling how long it would be before either came to pass. It was also unsettling to be so far from the house and William. Whether it was the fact that he was still so young and she had yet to spend any length of time away from him or that she wanted to have him close from some illogical fear something would happen to him too while he was out of her sight, she couldn’t say. As she thought about it, she realized that she hadn’t been away from Brianna for an extended period since her birth either. Once or twice Claire had been called away to treat tenants and for one reason or another the situation required her to stay overnight, but whenever she’d traveled from Lallybroch beyond a day’s ride, Brianna had been with her—and Jamie had, too.

He emerged from the woods and swung himself back up onto the horse. “They’ve found her,” he said, a layer of relief replacing one of his layers of tension.

They rode up to see the Red Coats emerging from the woods with Brianna close at hand. Before the major could hoist Brianna up into the saddle, Jamie had called out and Brianna had run to meet them.

Sure enough, the soldiers sought to shelter at Lallybroch for the night. Though he’d already forewarned Murtagh, Jamie couldn’t help clenching his jaw at the thought of Red Coats in Lallybroch again and while, Major Grey phrased it as a request, they both knew Jamie couldn’t really refuse.

The Claire spent much of the ride back to Lallybroch conversing politely with the two officers, thanking them profusely for their assistance in finding Brianna and bringing her home safe.

“We found a degree of success in our own venture as well,” Grey informed her vaguely.

“You shall have to share with us over dinner,” Claire said politely, eying Jamie’s head and catching a slight tilt towards her conversation. “It should be ready for the table by the time we return.”

Murtagh, Jenny, and Ian met them in the yard as they rode up and the soldiers dismounted. Murtagh and Jenny were silent, both with their arms across their chests and scowls on their faces while Ian managed a smile and stepped forward to welcome the officers and greet the relieved parents.

Jenny broke her stance and focused her attention on Brianna, ignoring the Red Coat officers.

“Ye’ll head right through to the kitchen to join yer cousins for yer supper,” she ordered. “And there’s to be no talking amongst the lot of ye. Ye’ve plotted enough and ye’re lucky ye’ve made it home safe. Wash up and mind Mrs. Crook but dinna get underfoot.” Turning to Claire, Jenny informed her, “William woke for a bit but wouldna take the goat’s milk. He fussed a bit but wore himself out right quick.”

“Thank you, Jenny,” Claire said leading the soldiers into the house and towards the dining room.

Foster followed where Claire led but Grey paused to investigate the marks at the door. “What happened here?” he inquired.

“Those marks were left by the Red Coats what came before ye,” Murtagh informed him with open disdain. “Kept a bit of a tally of the times they raided our stores in the last seven years.” He pushed past the officer into the house.

Ian and Jamie said nothing further as they waited for Grey to continue inside to the dining room where Claire and Jenny had pitchers of water and basins brought in for the men to be able to wash off the dust before they settled down to dinner. “I’ll go see to having the blankets and bedding aired so it will be ready in the hall for you. I don’t doubt you’ll be looking to turn in promptly tonight so you can make an early start tomorrow.”


	13. Chapter 13

Jenny eyed Captain Foster while she sipped from her glass of wine. Of the two officers, she clearly found him to be the more suspicious. Murtagh kept glancing between the officers and Jamie with disapproval though he refrained from muttering about his godson’s lack of sense. Ian and Claire wore matching strained smiles and made the most efforts towards conversation as Mrs. Crook brought the dishes in one at a time and presented them to Jamie who thanked her before taking the plate and passing it around.

“I’m afraid we werena expecting company so we dinna have the extra help to serve,” he informed the officers. “But as ye found Brianna in so timely a manner, we could hardly deny ye a bit of room and board.”

“We thank you for your hospitality and are relieved to have been of service to you in the process of executing our main duties,” Major Grey said with a polite nod to his host.

“I believe you mentioned that you had made progress in your own search as well,” Claire said bringing up the conversation they’d had on the ride back to the house.

“Yes,” Grey said simply. “I believe we have though we will learn more tomorrow with fresh light.” Grey could feel the tension in Foster’s jaw and the warning he dare not speak from across the table.

“Will ye no give us a wee hint as to where ye’re headed next?” Jenny inquired with less-than-subtle curiosity. Jamie paused as he chewed when he heard his sister’s question but succeeded in not shooting her a visual rebuke. Claire reached for her glass of wine and took a few liberal sips.

“I’m afraid we cannot risk word getting out about where we believe the men to have gone—not to imply that I think any of you might send word ahead,” Grey quickly asserted.

“Of course not,” Jenny agreed politely before apologizing. “I shouldna have asked.”

“And where was it exactly ye found wee Brianna?” Ian asked, speaking up and changing the subject.

“She had wandered a ways into the woods. I’m not surprised she became disoriented,” Foster explained. “Had we not thought to mark our path, I don’t know that we’d have found our way out again so easily.”

“We came upon a cave while we were searching,” Grey remarked casually. “Are you familiar with it?”

Jamie paused to think and chew. “Aye, I believe so. Back when I was a lad, my father used to bring me out there to hide when we hunted stag—a right quiet place to let the woods settle after the noise of moving through the trees. It’ll be some time yet before my own boy is old enough to do the same,” he said with a prideful smile for Claire.

“When was the last time you used it for such purposes?” Foster asked a bit more forcefully than Grey might have liked.

“Ye think these escaped men may have passed through that way?” Jamie asked with narrowed eyes.

“When was the last time you or anyone you have given permission to use it have done so?” Grey repeated, evading Jamie’s own question.

Jamie squinted as he thought back.

“It was before Da passed,” Jenny offered, taking another sip of her wine.

“Aye,” Jamie nodded. “And before Ian lost his leg.”

“Aye,” Ian agreed. “When we go now, we dinna usually go through the woods—I’m no so light on my feet as I once was.” Ian smiled in a self-deprecating manner.

“I don’t believe you’ve ever told me about this cave of yours,” Claire said with an amused smile to Jamie. “Did you only ever use it for hunting?”

“I believe so,” Jamie said with a shrug.

“What of the time ye ran away te avoid a thrashing?” Murtagh contributed with a raised brow.

Jenny and Ian laughed while Jamie rolled his eyes.

“Ye’d broken something of Mam’s,” Jenny said with a nod. “And ye kent Da would tan yer hide so ye fled.”

“Took yer father not but an hour to fetch ye back again,” Murtagh continued. “Ye’d no been further from the house than that cave.”

“Aye, I remember it well.” Jamie frowned.

Grey cleared his throat. “Then I feel we must inform you that yes, we suspect the escaped men have passed through here. Have you discovered anything missing? Now that your daughter has been located, of course,” Grey tried to joke but it fell flat after the brief account of Jamie’s childhood mishap.

“No as I’ve noticed,” Jenny answered with a shake of the head. “The chickens didna give as many eggs as they’re wont to do but between the cold last week and the age of our wee flock, I didna think much of it.”

Grey and Foster exchanged a look.

“We will return to the cave in the morning to investigate further but we believe the men in question might have spent a night or two there,” Grey informed them. “You will want to give the area a wide berth for some time yet in the event they return, though they’ve almost certainly moved on.”

“Word of English officers searching the area is likely to spread quickly,” Claire agreed.

“Ye think they’ll want to leave the country?” Ian asked.

“That is our main theory, yes,” Foster confirmed. “Word has been sent to the ports to be on the lookout but there are those less scrupulous who might be willing to carry such men to France.”

“How long must ye search before ye give the men up for good?” Jenny asked. When Claire squinted at her, Jenny added, “There are ravines and such about. If they’re travelin’ at night and in such foul condition as it is… I’d wager there’s as much chance of them taking a header down the rocks to feed the wolves as there is of them escaping to France.”

“It is a possibility we’ve considered,” Foster conceded.

“We have our orders to pursue the prisoners until we are reasonably confident as to their fate,” Grey explained.

Before more questions could be levied, Mrs. Crook appeared to remove whatever empty plates there were and to inform Claire that William had awoken and appeared to be in need of a feeding.

Claire excused herself while Jamie rose to pour everyone more wine.

The rest of dinner was relatively quiet as the group’s main topics of conversation were largely exhausted—though Ian and Jamie managed a rather lengthy lecture on the benefits and methods of growing potatoes, which featured prominently in the meal.

The officers declined Jamie’s invitation for a whiskey by the fire while Jenny helped Claire usher the children to bed.

“We wish to be out of your hair and back to our search as early as possible,” Grey explained, glancing to the hall where the bedding Claire had promised was neatly folded for them to lay out as they pleased.

“Then we’ll bid ye goodnight,” Jamie told them with a half bow. “As farmers at the end of the day, we rise and set wi’ the sun ourselves. And I must thank ye again for the service ye’ve done my family. I’ll look to get my daughter up early enough to thank ye herself in the morning,” he warned them.

Jamie and Ian moved to let the officers prepare for bed, Jamie walking Murtagh to the door so he could head for his cabin while Ian closed things up in the kitchen before following Jenny up to bed.

Only Jamie, Murtagh, and Ian were able to see the soldiers off in the morning, Claire and Jenny busy getting the children dressed and fed.

“How long do ye think till it’ll be safe for us to move them to the cave?” Murtagh asked Jamie.

“Ye dinna mean to use the cave after that?” Ian protested. “Those soldiers will be back through this way when they dinna find hide nor tail of Angus and Willie. They’ll ken to look at the cave again first thing.”

“They’ll no be in the cave when the Red Coats come through again,” Jamie assured Ian. “Claire says Willie can be moved next week. The Red Coats will be further north by then and if they do come back this way it will be after they’ve convinced themselves Angus and Willie have either made it to France or become a wolf’s supper.”

“Where do ye expect them to be if they’re no going to still be in the cave?” Ian asked.

Jamie grinned. He had a plan for his two old friends.


	14. Epilogue

**Some Months Later**

“Ye’re sure ye dinna want to continue to work the farm too?” Jamie asked Angus as Claire and Jenny put together a pack of supplies for him. “It might be safer for ye to integrate yerself here than back near Leoch.”

“I ken that well but I need to set my feet on the MacKenzie lands agin,” he insisted, his hands roving over the sleeves of his new coat. It had been one of Ian’s but he’d stained it at one point. The stain was easily cut out as part of the resizing process. “I need to see what’s left there wi’ my own eyes—I owe as much to Dougal, te see how the folk of the clan are getting on these past years.”

“And what of you, Willie?” Claire asked, crossing her arms when she was satisfied with the amount of food in Angus’ pack. “Do you have plans to return that way and see how your family are doing?”

Willie looked to Jamie briefly before fixing his gaze on Claire. “I was talking it over wi’ Jamie the other day,” he began. “I plan to stay on hereabouts for a time.”

“I’ve hired Willie to help wi’ the MacNab place,” Jamie explained. “It’s be no but a heap of rubble for close to a decade now. I feel it’s time to move past what happened there and put the land to use again. Willie will help clear what’s left and build a new croft on the site.”

“And when it’s done, Jamie said he’ll let me rent it and work it as well.” There was an enthusiasm and hope in Willie’s voice that had long been absent. “I’ll need to use a false name, of course—same as Angus. But Jamie says the folk hereabout wouldna dare turn me in did they ken who I really was.”

“Not wi’ you living at the old MacNab place, I don’t reckon,” Jenny remarked quietly with an eye to Jamie.

Willie and Angus moved out of the kitchen towards the yard to bid a final farewell. Murtagh was watering his horse having already gone on a quick scouting run though word was the army had long since given up the search—of the seven men originally escaped, two had been recaptured and the bodies of two more recovered leaving Willie, Angus, and a third at large. Standing reward notices had been issued should anyone ever locate the remaining escaped men who were thought to have successfully sailed to either France of the Colonies.

“Do you really think it wise for Willie to stay so close?” Claire asked. William crawled over from the penned in area at the corner of the kitchen having successfully stacked the blankets and cushions to climb over the barricade. He pulled himself up by Claire’s skirt, tugging until she bent to pick him up. "He's already been here longer than you were before the Watch snatched you when we first came to Lallybroch," she recalled. 

“He'll be safer here than he will in much of the rest of Scotland. At least here he'll be among friends he kens he can trust. He’ll be safe enough,” Jamie said firmly. “Till the plot is cleared and the new croft built, he’ll stay wi’ Murtagh. I dinna think it will be too long before he finds himself a wife among the tenants nearby. I can think of at least one wi' her eye on him,” Jamie chuckled. "And I think he's noticed her, to tell the truth."

William rested his head against Claire’s shoulder and stuck a finger in his mouth to suck on as he sighed deeply.

“I hope so,” Claire acknowledged with a smile, refusing to give in to Jamie's teasing and ask whom he might mean. "He deserves to breathe a bit. They both do."

Jamie turned and slid an arm up her back, pulling her in to plant a kiss on the top of her head before stooping to kiss the back of William’s as well. "Aye, Sassenach. That they do."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if there was some confusion regarding the end to the last installment - I didn't mean for it to be read as a real cliff hanger (Jamie just always has a plan). While I don't intend to revisit this story during the time between the last installment and this epilogue, I hope this little note answers a few questions that readers may have.
> 
> Angus and Willie _do_ spend some time in the cave after Willie's ankle is healed enough for Claire to agree to let him go. It isn't more than a few weeks before Jamie has made arrangements for the two men to change their names and re-approach the area as unattached laborers. Because of the assistance and supplies they have had from Lallybroch, they're in much better shape than the men the army are supposed to be looking for and the timing is off enough that no one would be suspicious (and those who might be probably don't care being none too fond of the English themselves). After receiving word of the army's abandoning an active search, they agree it's safe enough for Angus and Willie to do as they please.
> 
> Angus decides to head back towards Leoch mostly out of loyalty to Dougal - he wants to see for himself the state of his Chief's people, both family and those of the former Clan MacKenzie. I like to think that his new alias pays tribute to some of his fallen friends and probably his fallen War Chief/Chief but don't have a particular name settled. 
> 
> Willie would play it simple and probably adopt William MacTavish as his alias. I see him developing a relationship with Mary MacNab in this AU and possibly wedding her some time in the future (he/they _may_ make appearances in future stories in this series (no plans yet). I go back and forth about whether he'd actually take her to live in a new house built on the ruins of the house she shared with Ronald MacNab (as someone would inevitably explain that incident to him). 
> 
> I did have a question regarding Brianna's punishment on a different chapter and while that is also not a part of this story I plan to explore further textually, I did respond with what that punishment would be. [Read about Brianna's punishment here](http://archiveofourown.org/comments/53425588)


End file.
